This Week In Digital

James Stanley

December 18th 2015

This week in digital

What was searched for most on Google this year?

This week Google revealed its list of global and national top trending search terms from 2015, giving us insight into what we as a nation were interested in throughout the year. The trends were built up into numerous cultural categories and a general top 10. While the most-Googled topics show the scale of global issues like the Charlie Hebdo and November Paris attacks, the majority of search in 2015 revolved around showbiz and trivia.

Lamar Odem, former Los Angeles Lakers star and soon-to-be-divorcee of TV personality Khloe Kardashian, topped global searches this year following his four-day binge which hospitalised the former NBA star. Due to the amount of people that follow both basketball and the Kardashian’s, the story that should have been native to America echoed around the Western world due to the amount of news features on the subject.

The UK

In music, Adele topped the list with her incredible comeback year. Although she only reappeared in the latter quarter of this year, her emotionally charged single ‘Hello’ flew to the top of the charts followed by the release of her new album ’25’ breaking records worldwide. Sia followed second after a string of successful and controversial music videos featuring actor Shia LaBeouf and child dancer Maddie Ziegler.

In movies, box office breaking Jurassic Park and American Sniper topped global film searches, with Star Wars not charting due to its December release. In sport, UFC star Ronda Rousey came top after her three year reign was overcome by Holly Holm in an emphatic kick to the head knockout, other popular sport searches included the passing of New Zealand Rugby hero Jonah Lomu and the appointment of Jurgen Klopp as manager of Liverpool Football Club.

Jeremy Corbyn came top of the politicians following his victory in the Labour leadership race and Jeremy Clarkson was the most talked about male celebrity in 2015 following the Top Gear bust up. The death of national treasure Cilla Black stirred the nation, not only was she the most searched for female celebrity but the top search nationwide. Here’s a few of the global charts from this year in search (via The Daily Mail).

First Brit To Board The ISS

British Astronaut Tim Peake became a part of history this week by launching into space to become the first British man ever to board the International Space Station (ISS). On arriving at his home for the next six months, Peake said “it was a beautiful launch, I hope you enjoyed the show” despite his journey consisting of being crammed into a Russian capsule for more than 10 hours. The ascent seemed flawless until a hiccup in the final moments when the automatic docking system malfunctioned. The glitch forced capsule Captain Malenchenko to take manual control of the spacecraft, he backed it up and then slowly bought the capsule safely to the station.

Peake’s mission Principia, consists of many scientific experiments to explore how the body adapts to space, how advanced materials form in weightless conditions, and trialling new technologies, including remote control systems for operating rovers on planetary surfaces.

Google Doodle Gets Musical

Celebrating the 245th year of one of the most renowned 18th century classical composers, Ludwig van Beethoven, Google posted an interactive Doodle challenging visitors to put together his greatest compositions.

Visiting the Google homepage begins an interactive symphony story where Beethoven is making his way to the concert hall. He has a few runs of bad luck on his way with his sheet music being destroyed in a number of ways. The user must piece together Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, Fur Elise, Moonlight Sonata and Ode to Joy to reach the finale.

“It happens that our story isn’t much of a stretch in the broader context of Ludwig van Beethoven’s life, which saw more than its share of rotten luck,” said Google artists.

“He lost two siblings prematurely, had to assume full responsibility for his family as a teenager, fell madly for unrequiting lovers twice, and, most famously, began losing his hearing at the peak of his career. Despite all of this, Beethoven’s music prevailed.”

And Finally… Viral News

Further evidence that Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osbourne is actually a robot emerged this week in a bizarre Vine posted by Sky News. As children sung carols in front of 10 Downing Street, Osbourne seems particularly distant in amongst the bright lights of the media.